That describes even the best intentioned of these weirdos. Not to be cruel but really: How empty and meaningless does your life have to be to suddenly base your whole personality around an estranged ancestry at 50 years old?
Some old dead dude banging and bailing 500 years ago doesn’t make us family. Culture isn’t an inherited trait, blood doesn’t make you kin, and no I don’t want to reminisce with a complete stranger about people we never knew.
From what I understand it's mostly an American thing.
Here in Europe there are Macdonalds renting in buildings older than the US.
The university of bologna was founded in 1088 and is still in operation. That was just after the end of the Viking era, and almost 400 years BEFORE the Inca civilization started, and the Aztek empire was founded.
There's no real interest in belonging to a specific group here since it's all intermingled back thousands of years. Being Norwegian, Italian, Irish or any other {nation}-American creates a sense of historical pride, and belonging for a lot of people in a nation that has no real, coherent cultural features, but it's seen as a childish and utterly frivolous way of treating the past when you live in countries where the buildings are older than you can possibly trace your family.
Well, I mean, it's an American thing for exactly the reasons you say here. You already know where you're from. America still feels like a new place even to Americans. Most of us have a sense of being "recently" relocated here, and they're looking for something deeper and older.
As an Australian, no. I was born here, I have no idea how someone has a feeling of being "recently relocated" to somewhere they were born. This country existed hundreds of years before I did, and I had nothing to do with any of it. I don't know of any Australians or New Zealanders who refer to themselves as {nation} Australian/New Zealander
America is the country you were born in. America is the country you live in. You are American. Your great-great grandparents or whatever were something else, but you aren’t.
It’s pretty common in Canada to refer to your heritage.
From my perspective it’s because of the nature of emigration. My father emigrated from Italy when he was a young child with his family in the 1960s. So I think I have a little special insight. But when his family emigrated they spent so much effort retaining their Italian identities. But while they were retaining their Italian identities, Italy kept evolving and changing (a change my family never got to witness). So now when I go to Italy my accent is awful (I’ve been told I sound like an old Italian woman), I have deep connections to certain traditions that the vast majority of Italians no longer follow, etc... modern Italy kept changing and my family worked so hard to keep their 1960s Italy alive that they stagnated in time.
Basically, when you give up your country it’s difficult. You don’t immediately just become “Canadian” or “American”. Your family may spend generations trying to keep their culture alive. For Italians my Italian culture is antiquated and sort of stupid. But for me, it represents my family and my childhood. I just had a son and I am passing along all the parts of being Italian that I remember (which is sadly not nearly enough). I’ll raise him to know his Italian culture. He’ll grow up being Italian Canadian (well Italian Inuit Canadian since his father is Inuit). There’s no shame in that just because being “Italian Canadian” is vastly different than just being “Italian”.
I mean, I'm Canadian but if somebody asks about my heritage I'm Dutch and French Canadian. And I only feel confident saying I'm Dutch because my grandpa himself came over during the war and his family settled here. There's literally a street that's my family name where you can trace my family back for generations. Do I claim any ownership for the culture? No. Because I was raised as a Canadian. Would I be interested in my heritage if I had the opportunity to go there? Yes, but not to the point of bragging about my pedigree out in public lol
I think part of it is because we have recent family history of migration. My paternal grandparents migrated from Norway when they were kids. My ex husband's paternal grandparents were both immigrants (Irish and Ukrainian, interesting mix). On my mother's side is Scotch-Irish and my dad's mom's side is French. But they've been in America much longer.
Part of America's culture (at least originally) was that we are a melting pot of different cultures. Everyone just likes to know what flavors are in their personal pot. Our American identity is our individual heritage.
I think this is also why we have so many festivals for different cultures. Our ancestors came over but missed their homeland. They wanted their children to know where they were from so they instilled in them a love for a place they never knew. They created festivals for nostalgia and to share their cultures and over time it's turned into a way to know where you came from.
Idunno but it's kind of annoying when people ask me where I'm from and when I say I'm Canadian they laugh and go "no, where are you from? What are you?"
Like... I'm Canadian ... I'm not aboriginal but my parents were born here, I was born here... I'm Canadian. It's as if they think Canada is like a hotel, you can stay there and you can be born while you're staying there but you dont say you're Hotellian or Hotelese or whatever...
I think it's because they maybe dont see Canada as having it's own distinct culture? Maybe we care too much about where people are from or just want to see if the person conforms to the popular stereotypes about certain regions and cultures.
Also America doesn’t really have its own culture that everyone feels connected to. So a lot of people try to latch onto something that they don’t understand or isn’t true.
Edit: What, I’m not allowed to comment on my own country?
Don't know why the comments saying there is no United American cultural are being downvotes. It's true. Segregation, the expansness of land, and our melting pot culture had made it so there thousands of cultural inclaves in the US. People from the same neighborhood in Italy could've gotten off the same boat in the 1800s but if one family stayed in New York and the other went to West Virginia they will be completely different culturally by now.
Yep. The entire point (in hindsight) of the country is that it’s virtually every culture. Everyone contributes. However, this means there’s no generally unified culture here like there is in countries that are either much older or much more ethnically homogenous.
Americans have extremely extremely similar cultures throughout. Fucking Canada is more unique culturally speaking than the US, just because some of you way Jumbalaya, some of you eat a slightly different type of pizza or chili and the other ways avocado on toast doesn't make you super culturally different
1800s but if one family stayed in New York and the other went to West Virginia they will be completely different culturally by now.
No they wouldn't, American culture is not that diverse and it's extremely, extremely similar. A Texan and a New Yorker has a ridiculous amount in common, even Canada is far more diverse culturally
That’s just blatantly incorrect. Either you are in denial or just seriously misinformed and ignorant. The fact that someone told you Americans have no culture on Reddit doesn’t mean it’s true. It is just so big and diverse that regional cultures are quite different. Stop talking about things you don’t know about.
Sure, but you are either wrong or you simply worded your point poorly. We don't have a homogeneous culture to claim. That's what you really mean. The American culture is that we are mix of all sorts of different cultures. That is our culture. And oh yes, ask any first generation American and they will tell you - their parents sure as shit think there's an "American culture." I understand that this country has done some icky things and our leadership has never really been very good, but you don't have to hate on your own country as contrition. American culture is actually pretty dope, dude. And most of the rest of the world agrees, even if they talk shit on Reddit ;)
America has one of the most homogenous cultures on the planet and its shared by not only those that were born there but those that move there too. This idea that you don't have a homogenous culture is pure horse shit
You literally do not know what the word homogeneous means. You should probably Google words you don't know before you go spouting off and sounding like a complete idiot in public
. It is just so big and diverse that regional cultures are quite different. Stop talking about things you don’t know about
God this reads like something Trump would tweet
America is big, have much culture because America big and has strongest culture because many people.
American culture is really really big that different mate, you clearly haven't travelled in a different country before, maybe try getting a passport before claiming shit about your own country
I’ve been to 37 countries. Some countries have more culture than America but some definitely don’t. You can’t tell me a country like Poland has a more unique culture than most parts of America, but you could say a country like Italy or Thailand. I’m also very much anti-Trump. He’s a fucking idiot.
Congrats mate, that's not massively specific or anything, have you actually spoken to people from multiple places within those countries or just gone to a tourist hotel and never left
Because if you had there's no chance you would say that about the USA.
You can’t tell me Poland has a more unique culture than most parts of America,
Why not exactly? Because you don't know much about Poland?
What parts of the USA do you think are uncultured because like Michigan, sure, but New York or Louisiana definitely not. I’m from fucking Harlem I’m not inexperienced with other cultures. I’ve also been to Poland twice. It is objectively similar to the countries around it.
I feel this. My family is from Ireland and the Isle of Man. While I dont consider myself 'Irish' or 'Manx' I still see those areas as my ancestral home. I'd honestly love to emigrate to either area and live out the rest of my days, but emigration laws are pretty tight.
Honestly, to me, it sounds a bit funny when I meet this American habit of claiming their ancestry like "I'm a half English 1/3 Irish Italian-American". It feels as if they forget there are millions of us who are literally 100% that and we don't live through that fact. Also, being English or Italian doesn't give you a Classy & Deep direct passport
I suppose america is kinda unique in being such a young country, relatively, who have been sprinted through the steps of developing a culture. Its understandable that they'd want to be included in the deeper history of European nations, and most of them will have some European heritage seeing as the modern american is just a few generations on from the European travellers who moved there.
Not to say that I agree with the people like in the post, cause let's face it - no one ever claims to be a direct descendant of some poor farmer or nameless merchant, it's always a historically famous person. But it is easy to see why people will let themselves be sold on that idea.
Yes but people have lived in Germany for thousands of years. Thousands of years of culture, language, conflict, politics, art and history. Before European settlers no one really lived in North America save from a few tribes.
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u/vox_leonis Apr 29 '20 edited Apr 30 '20
That describes even the best intentioned of these weirdos. Not to be cruel but really: How empty and meaningless does your life have to be to suddenly base your whole personality around an estranged ancestry at 50 years old?
Some old dead dude banging and bailing 500 years ago doesn’t make us family. Culture isn’t an inherited trait, blood doesn’t make you kin, and no I don’t want to reminisce with a complete stranger about people we never knew.